USM prof muses on Mad Men

A University of Southern Maine professor is contributing a chapter to a book (forthcoming from McFarland Publishing) about the popular AMC series Mad Men, and recently spoke about the phenomenon at the Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture Conference in Boston. 

From a USM release: "USM Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies David Pierson thinks today’s current economy may be one reason for the show’s popularity. 'For contemporary viewers living in the unstable, fast-paced work environment of today, “Mad Men” serves as a nostalgic vision of pre-1970s capitalism when working for a corporation was the aspiration of most middle-class American professionals,' states Pierson.  The corporations in this era ' … provided workers with a sense of stability, a hierarchal career tract, and a social identity.'"

Also, Joan Holloway is hot.